


The King's Birthday

by WStock



Series: The Royal Family of New Orleans [5]
Category: The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 18:31:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17085485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WStock/pseuds/WStock
Summary: It's Naveen's birthday and Maldonia is celebrating, much to the jealousy of Tiana.





	The King's Birthday

You can imagine that a great deal of unpleasantness occured the next morning when Tiana found Naveen in the living room, but I shall not detail the unpleasant events of this day, for our story begins the day after. It was a very momentous day in Maldonia and New Orleans for numerous parties (most of whom’s affairs shall not be discussed in this story, for the parties have no, or greatly distant connection to any parties the reader of these stories have become acquainted with), and the events of this day shall henceforth be detailed to you.

Of the previous day's events I shall tell you only that Tiana teased Naveen when she found him on the couch in the morning, and then Naveen apologized so vehemently that Tiana accepted his apology, and he promised never to forget her birthday once more, and they were very close for the rest of that day; so all appeared to be going well until this morning when Tiana was awakened early by horns blowing and yelling in Maldonian outside the palace.

"What in the world is going on out there?" she asked, dazed, turning onto her side to look at Naveen.

Naveen chuckled. "It is the parade they are holding to celebrate my 22nd birthday." Upon saying this he suddenly became uneasy.

"I see," Tiana replied calmly. "So the King of Maldonia gets a parade every year for his birthday?"

Naveen hesitated to reply, then finally, an uneasy "yes" escaped his lips. "I believe it is unnecessary, myself, but it is a very old tradition."

"Is it a law in the Nabarafok?" Tiana asked. As she began to speak her voice revealed she was somewhat annoyed, but she was genuinely attempting to sound calm and un-angry.

"No. It is not actually a law. It is merely a tradition that goes back many years," Naveen explained. "The people would probably be disappointed if I ended it, since Maldonian men love nothing more than a chance to celebrate."

"Right," Tiana said.

Several musical instruments now blared, but they became quieter as a Maldonian man began to sing. Tiana could only understand a few words that the man sang, but Naveen seemed to understand it all, for a wide grin spread across his face as he listened.

Tiana looked over at him. "What is he singing?"

"Oh, nothing. It isn't really much about the King at all," Naveen told her. "It's more about being loyal to the country."

"Oh."

Suddenly, the doors of the room were thrown open, and Nagina ran into the room and up to the bed, and wrapped her arms around Naveen's head.

"Oh, my son, I am so excited that it is your 22nd birthday!" She kissed Naveen's cheek several times. "I cannot believe it! It seems such a short time ago that you were a little baby suckling my breast!"

Naveen was extraordinarily grateful that that time did not seem so recent to him, but he was unsure of what to say to his mother. He looked over at Tiana, who was watching them with an average expression on her face.

"Well, thank you, Mother," Naveen said awkwardly. "I really do not think it is such a big deal."

"Oh, my son, don't be ridiculous! How can you say that?" Nagina cried, her eyes shining with happiness. "This is one of the most important days of the entire year! The King of Maldonia is turning 22! The entire country is celebrating!"

Tiana's face began to involuntarily shape itself into a glare. Nagina was purposefully trying to anger her. She had no doubt of that.

Nagina kissed Naveen's cheek one last time before taking her arms off of her son's head and rising.

"Well, the servants shall bring in your official birthday breakfast soon! Goodbye!" Nagina chirped as she ran out of the room.

Naveen felt nervous. He looked over to Tiana to find that she was glaring, as he had expected. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I know it is unfair. I really do. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I assure you, I don't need no special attention," Tiana assured him.

Naveen paused, unsure of what to say. Then finally he spoke. "I am sorry I forgot your birthday. As I said before, it shall never happen again."

"Thank you," Tiana said and gave him a small kiss. She then heard a deafening chanting outside and walked over to the window.

Thousands of people were marching for as far as the eye could see right up into the palace yard and holding up banners which read "Happy birthday," "Happy 22nd birthday," and "We hope you have a happy birthday" in Maldonian. They were all screaming in Maldonian. The royal guards stood in the yard and blew their trumpets. The royal singer was prancing around singing in Maldonian. She thought this was pointless, as no one could hear him.

As she stared and took in the scene, she began to grow angry. Naveen watched from their bed, concerned. It was then that nine servants came in carrying a long tray with several plates on it, each covered.

"It is in honor of our King Naveen's 22nd birthday that we give to you this special birthday breakfast!" they all ejaculated in Maldonian. All Tiana understood was "It is in our King Naveen's we to you".

Naveen made his best effort to smile, although he was nervous. "Uh... ques yo! Ques yo!" he responded. This was how a Maldonian would say, "Thank you". "Ques yo, garatino. Be is muchos adesapalo. (Thank you, gentlemen. It is much appreciated.)" Tiana continued to watch him, although no longer glaring. She understood all the words except for the final words in each sentence.

The servants all smiled. "And we do wish you the best fortunes on your 22nd birthday, truly a quite momentous occasion!" one said in Maldonian. The other servants all piped in their agreement.

This time all Tiana understood was "We you the your, a". She understood enough to know that they had been giving Naveen a special breakfast for his birthday, and they had likely offered birthday greetings to him. That was enough to fill her with anger at the sheer injustice of the country with which she presided over.

()()()()

It was around this time in the morning that Charlotte had just finished breakfast when the telephone in the living room rang.

"Oh, Daddy, who do you believe that could be?" Charlotte cried jubilantly, leaping up from the table and running out of the room. "Oh, it's probably one of the girls! Right, Daddy?"

"Well, be sure to tell me if it's for me," Big Daddy replied from his position at the head of the long table.

Charlotte ran out of the kitchen and into the living room and picked up the headset of the telephone which sat on a desk. "Hello! Who is this?" she cried.

"This is Lavinia," the voice replied.

"OH, LAVINIA, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE YOU! OH, JIMINY CRICKETS, I AM JUST PLEASED AS PUNCH TO HEAR FROM YOU! WHAT IS IT, LAVINIA? HUH? HUH?"

"Well, I, uh..." Lavinia often felt overwhelmed speaking to Charlotte on the phone, and in person, for that matter. "I wanted to tell you that I gotta..."

"Huh? Huh? Golly, what do you gotta tell me, Lavinia?"

"Well, I-I was wondering if, uh..." Lavinia started again. She cleared her throat. "If we could go out somewhere today, just the two of us. There's something I really want to talk to you about."

"Oh, that's just peachy, Lavinia! I'll tell Alice and Marie and Dorothy and then we can just go out to Tiana's Palace together! Ha ha! But wait a minute, Lavinia. Why don't you just tell me whatever you got to tell me now, for goodness sake?"

"Well, I, uh... I really thought it would be better to talk to you about this in person."

"Oh, that's just fine, then, Lavinia! Just fine! Well, bye now! I can't wait to hear whatever it is you got to tell me, Lavinia! Heh heh! Well, bye now!"

"Bye."

Charlotte slammed the phone down and ran out into the kitchen, and hopped up and down in front of her father, who continued to sit at the head of the table, smoking a cigar and reading the newspaper.

"Oh, Daddy! Lavinia just called and said she's got something important she wants to talk to me about, and she wants the two of us to get together in private to talk about it! Oh, Daddy, what do you believe it could be?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Big Daddy told her. "I reckon you'll just have to wait and see."

Charlotte squealed with excitement.

()()()()

Halfway across the town, Deron sat on his scaffolding swabbing at the window of the large hotel. It was not, mind you, the same window that he had been swabbing before. That window stood several feet above, and now he gazed up at it, for today was the day on which "King Gorilla" was to stay at the hotel, and the day on which "Henry" had planned to sneak in during the night and kill King Gorilla while he slept. Perhaps King Gorilla was in the room already!

His heart beat at a rapid pace. To know that a murder would be held in that very room which stood but a few floors above him! His shift ended at 2:00, though, so he would not be up there when the murder took place.

He wondered what he should do about it. He thought that it was best he not be involved so as to avoid invoking the enmity of the mobsters. But at the same time he realized just how selfish that was. But perhaps the man up there was another mobster who deserved to be murdered. But still he could not be sure. Perhaps it was simply another innocent soul such as himself who had had the misfortune to overhear the Mafia conducting its dealings.

He was a Christian man, though, and after considering the situation for quite some time, he decided that in any case, it would definitely be a sin for him to let a possibly innocent man die, and he would almost certainly be condemned to hell for it. So he decided that ultimately, the right thing to do would be to tell the manager of the hotel so that he could prevent the murder from taking place, which he would do as soon as work was over.

It was not long before he suddenly remembered something. It was a very important piece of information. What the gangster had said. "Well, I gave a list of names to a fella who works here, and told him to be sure to call me back if any of the names I mentioned showed up." How could he know for certain whether that "fella" was not involved with the mafia himself? It did not sound likely when he considered the sentence, but he strongly suspected that that man knew that they were gangsters and had been threatened by them, and that he would be arrested or fired for not reporting them to the police, and Deron also feared that the man might seek revenge against him. Besides all that, there was no way to prove that he had overheard any conversation, so the police might not believe him. So, although he longed for another option, he decided that it could only be he who could save King Gorilla.

()()()()

Neither Naveen nor Tiana had any peace that morning.

Hundreds of women stood outside the palace gates screaming and yelling birthday greetings in Maldonian. Naveen was enjoying watching them through the window as he smoked his morning cigarette. He realized how much Tiana loathed this, though, so he attempted to act as if he did not enjoy it, but without his realizing it, his lips had spread into a wide grin.

This was partially due to the amusing sight which stood outside. An enormous throng of young women had now tackled the security guards, who attempted to get up and seize the women, but some of them leaped upon them, knocking them to the ground. So vast was their number that the guards were quickly being beaten senseless by the women. At seeing how much they outnumbered the guards, some of the men had now begun to join in wrestling with the guards, who were all lying on the ground with numerous people on top of them beating them. Three guards ran out and pulled out their guns. One woman screamed something in Maldonian, and several of the people jumped onto the guards and seized their guns, which they then held on them. Guards continued to come out with guns and attempt to pull them away, but the people had no fear, for they knew how great their number was, so they all leaped on the guards and pummeled them ferociously, and it was in this fashion that they successfully managed to get all of their guns away from them.

Naveen became horrified as he realized how out of control the situation had become.

"What is going on out there?" Tiana ejaculated as she heard the security guards and the people screaming furiously.

Naveen turned to her, shocked. "They are beating the guards. There are too many for them to handle."

"What?" Tiana screamed, and ran to the window. She could not believe her eyes at the sight she beheld. Some of the young women had stolen keys from the guards and unlocked the gate and now they were all running into the garden. At seeing the group of women who had unlocked the gate run in, a great deal of the people outside the gate ran through into the yard. Any guard who moved to stop them was instantly subdued by a storm of people and their guns taken from them. Five guards stood at the palace door, but they were all easily overtaken by the people, who now ran into the grand hall. Screaming and squealing, they all ran in the direction of a kitchen assistant who was carrying an enormous pile of silverware to be washed, colliding with the assistant and causing all of the plates and dishes to smash onto the floor into a million pieces. Three Maldonian men were knocked over by the throng and were cut by the glass, causing them to scream horrid Maldonian oaths.

Tiana and Naveen were not sure exactly what was happening, but they heard the noise and screaming and the plates smashing right below them. It was several stories below, but the noise was so great that they could not help but to hear them.

"THIS IS INSANE!" Tiana screamed in shock.

"I know!" Naveen cried in panic.

The people now all ran up the stairs of the palace. Some were inadvertently pushed out of the group and fell down the stairs, breaking their backs. A young maid who had heard the noise and was curious walked over to the stairway, then screamed when she saw the enormous throng of people heading towards her. She hurriedly ran off down the hallway before the group could careen into her.

The group reached the top of the stairs. All the maids were waiting around the corner to see the sight. They all gasped in shock when they saw the throng turn the corner and run down the hallway.

The hallway was fairly wide, but the group was so large that there were at least 50 people on every inch of the hallway as they ran through. Unfortunately, all the priceless vases that stood on stands were now destroyed by the unfortunate people in the throng who careened into them and then fell down and broke several of their bones. A few tried to stop themselves, which caused the entire line of people up against them to stop and collapse and fall onto the ground.

The maids that were in the hallway ran into the nearest door they could find, and most of them were spared. However, one stood at the end of the hallway, far away from any doors. She screamed in terror as she saw the hundreds of people all charging toward her, but then sighed with relief as she saw them all run through a corner into another hallway, the opening of which was located some feet away from her.

In the second hallway, they encountered more maids and servants, all of whom panicked at the sight of them and ran into other rooms.

Every person who stood on the left side of the hallway collided with stands covered in antiques, causing themselves and the stands to fall over. Numerous people were cut with the glass from the antiques which stood on the stands, and so the hallway became filled with shrieks of pain and Maldonian swear words. A section of the people also crashed into the statue of King Ravidas, causing it to fall onto the floor and shatter.

Several of the people were now terrified and screaming about how insane the entire situation was, which contributed further to the noise.

18 security guards ran behind the mob and fired bullets into as many of them as they could, causing a number of them to die instantly, several others to die gradually, and others to merely fall on the floor screaming in pain. All the Maldonian commoners were now screaming in panic, rage, and fear so that the air was shattered with noise. Still more were shot by the guards. A large section of the people all turned around and charged at the security guards, but most of them were instantly shot through the heart, except for 2 men who jumped onto one of the guards and beat him before being shot through their backs.

The lessened throng, chased by the security guards who ran at them firing their guns madly, ran through more hallways and up more staircases, several of them falling down and either breaking their backs or dying.

Presently they reached a hallway in which Mathura was contained. She was wiping a gourney off with a towel when the throng barreled in. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU FLAMING BRUTES!" she screamed at them in Maldonian and then drove the gourney at them, causing some of them to fall over, while several others leaped over the gourney and kicked Mathura in the face, knocking her to the floor.

"I'VE HAD PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH YOUR LOT!" Mathura roared, and leaped up and kicked 2 men in the groin, leveling them in pain. She knew she would be overcome by them, however, for this sort of experience had nearly killed her 5 times before in the past, so she ran into another room in the hallway and locked it.

The congregation now ran into the hallway which contained Nagina's bedroom. Nagina had, of course, heard the noise outside, though, and locked her bedroom door. It was she who had ordered the guards to shoot the group. She smiled as she heard the bullets enter a woman's back, causing her to scream loudly.

The guards were firing off their guns endlessly, striking down a large number of the people. There was still a great many left, but they were all panicked and screaming to each other at the top of their lungs.

A pack of them realized their number, however, and they all ran at the security guards and tackled them. 7 of the security guards had not been tackled, however, and they all shot as many of the people as they could. The group now jumped up and kicked 3 of the security guards, knocking them to the ground, which caused the guards' guns to fall out of their hands. The band now seized those guns and fired their bullets into as many of the guards as they could. The guards quickly fired back, however, but a great number of them were shot and fell to the ground.

It was a dreadful state of affairs, for each party was firing madly at the other party. There were large numbers of each party, however, and finally the group gave up and ran off quickly, leaving several of their members on the floor dead. Some of them were alive, but the guards shot them through the heart for good measure before running after the surviving clutch.

They ran into another hallway, and barreled into several servants, causing them to fall to the ground, injured. They also barreled into more vases which stood on stands, knocking them over and destroying them. More of them were shot by the guards who ran after them, and their number was now below 70 people.

Tiana and Naveen had heard the bullets fired and they were horribly frightened. Tiana's mouth hung open. Naveen was sitting on the bed covering his head with his hands in shame, his cigarette smoldering in an ashtray beside him. "Th- This is insane!" Tiana cried. "I mean, does this sort of stuff go on every year?"

Naveen laughed. "No, not every year. Just..."

He did not finish that sentence, for at that moment, the entire throng of people came running through the door.

Tiana screamed. Naveen took his head from his hands and looked up in shock.

Instantly, more than 70 people were leaning over their bed and looking at them with excited faces.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUR MAJESTY!" several people cried, running up to the bed.

A man ran up to the bedside and bowed before Naveen. "Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you, and may we wish you the happiest birthday a man could ever have!"

"Same here!" several other men ejaculated.

"Happy birthday!" the people all cried.

Naveen was utterly flabbergasted. He did not know how to react. All at once, people were endlessly shaking his hand and wishing him a happy birthday.

A large number of women were now remarking on how much cuter he was in person, and Naveen was extraordinarily grateful Tiana had not entirely mastered Maldonian yet. She guessed at what they were saying by their tone of voice and facial expression, though, and glared at them with animosity. Some of them remarked at this. The entire situation made Naveen feel increasingly uncomfortable, especially as he realized that a number of the women were ex-girlfriends of his.

He did not have time to feel uncomfortable for long, though, for it was at that moment that 21 guards ran through the door, all carrying cocked machine guns. They ran at the entire throng shooting off their machine guns madly. Panicked, the throng ran forward toward the window, and the guards then ran into them, which caused them all to fall through the window glass and land on the ground 30 feet below.

Thoroughly appalled, for several minutes, Tiana and Naveen simply gaped, too shocked to speak.

()()()()

Charlotte was filled with excitement wondering what surprise Lavinia would have in store for her as Lee drove her to Tiana's Palace. Lavinia, on the other hand, was filled with nothing short of sheer anxiety as she sat at a table waiting.

She lit a cigarette and breathed heavily, her heart beating at an extraordinary pace, as she looked around nervously at the large amounts of people in the restaurant. She realized now she should have planned to tell Charlotte in her own mansion, but at the time, she had thought it only necessary that Alice, Marie, and Dorothy not be around when the news was told to her.

She never let her eyes stray from the window for an instant, and soon enough, she saw Charlotte's car pull up being driven by Lee, with Charlotte in a very excitable state of mind holding her familiar black cigarette holder in her mouth, in the back seat. Lavinia took deep breaths, drawing sharp inhales and exhales on her cigarette as she watched the car pull up to the restaurant and Charlotte come running out of it. And then, all at once, there she was, cigarette holder and all, trailing a path of smoke behind her - running through the front doors of the restaurant straight toward the table where Lavinia sat, and jumping into the seat across from her.

"Oh, Lavinia, I can't tell you how excited I am! I just can't wait to hear what surprise you got! Now come on, Lavinia, tell me, tell me, TELL ME!"

"Well, uh, uh..." Lavinia smiled nervously and put her cigarette in an ashtray. She felt extremely embarrassed, as she noticed that several people in the restaurant were staring at them, save a scant few who witnessed Charlotte LaBouff's antics frequently.

"Come on, Lavinia! I've been just so excited waiting for this! Now come on! You gotta tell me! I'm begging you!" Charlotte stretched herself out onto the table in front of her and crawled forward, grabbing the hem of Lavinia's dress in desperation.

Lavinia felt extraordinarily nervous as the crowd continued to watch. "Well, I, uh, I, uh... You see, I... Well, y-you see, I, uh... I... I..." She cleared her throat. "I got a... I got a-a-a brother. And I thought you might like to-to me-meet him. Y-You see, he-he's a pretty swell fellow and I think... I think you... you might really, really like him."

Charlotte smiled. "Lavinia, are you trying to set me up?'

"Well, uh, uh..." Filled with embarrassment, Lavinia smiled nervously and took her cigarette back. "Yes. Heh heh." She could not have felt more embarrassed, with this scene taking place in front of a restaurant filled with interested patrons. She was certain it would be the talk of the town the next day. "But i-i-it's just that he's such a swell fellow and I-I was sure that-that you would love him and I thought that I at least had to get you to meet somehow! And he's heard a lot about you, and he really, really wants to meet you!"

Charlotte continued to smile. "Oh, Lavinia, there ain't no need to be embarrassed! Why, I'd love to meet your brother! What's his name?"

This news made Lavinia feel somewhat better, although she still felt quite embarrassed. "Oh, his- his name's, uh... his name's Donald."

"Oh. And how old is he?" Charlotte asked eagerly, taking a sharp drag on her cigarette.

"2 years older than you. He's 23," Lavinia answered.

"Oh, that's fine! And does he live around here?" Charlotte asked, looking very eager and excited.

"He, uh, he..." Lavinia cleared her throat. "He lives over in Baton Rouge, but he's coming to New Orleans today. I feel bad for not telling you earlier, but he just insisted on coming to meet you!"

"Well, tell Donald I'll meet him as soon as he wants!" Charlotte cried excitedly.

"Good. H-how about I tell him to come here to meet you right now?" Lavinia suggested awkwardly.

"Great!" Charlotte cried jubilantly. "Well, I'll have to go back to the mansion and change into my glad rags!" As she spoke, she ran from her seat to the restaurant door. "Oh, Lavinia, I just can't wait to meet your brother!" She seized the doorknob and ran out, slamming the door shut.

Lavinia turned her attention to the window and watched Charlotte run out into her car, which Lee then drove off. She sighed, took a long drag on her cigarette, and buried her head in her hands, then got up, butted her cigarette out, and walked out of the restaurant and up to her car.

Lavinia's chauffeur, Norman, a short man of 52 years, with graying hair, black eyes and a somewhat pudgy face, sat in the front seat. He got out as soon as he saw Lavinia approaching and held the back door open. She climbed in. He then got into the front seat again.

"Get me the hell out of here, Norman," Lavinia begged him, holding her head in her hand once more.

"Right away, Miss Lyte," Norman replied, and drove the car away.

()()()()

Tiana, Naveen, and Nagina stood looking out through their shattered window at the paramedics inspecting the multiple bodies which lay on the ground. Several photographers were outside taking pictures of the scene, as well. A few of them were in the bedroom photographing the scene in that room.

Both Tiana and Naveen's facial expressions betrayed their extreme shock as they stood at the window. Nagina's face, on the other hand, was cold and stoic. Tiana walked back to the bed slowly and cautiously. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open. "I can't believe it," she said. "How the hell could this happen?"

A nearby reporter quickly took advantage of this comment. "But, Your Majesty, is it not true that you ordered the guards to use deadly force on the invaders?" he asked.

"No, that ain't true," Tiana replied. She said it as calmly as she could, but it was obvious from the tone in her voice that the question angered her severely.

"That is very good information to know, Your Majesty. But the paper must know then, Your Majesty, who did tell the guards to use deadly force on the invaders?" the reporter replied coolly.

"I have been wondering that myself," Nagina said stiffly.

"The head of them, Yadav," Tiana replied. "He loves his men having gunfights with people so much he don't even bother to ask neither of us for permission, even though he ain't legally authorized to order the use of deadly force without us."

Nagina's eyebrows raised slightly as she heard Tiana speak, and a slight smile entered her face. "Yes. That is true."

"I see," the reporter replied skeptically, then turned his attention away from them and wrote in his notebook.

Tiana and Naveen looked at each other. Naveen's face was filled with shame and regret as he lit a cigarette behind his hands, while Tiana's was one of sheer bafflement and shock.

It was then that a young orange-haired maid entered the room. She was shaken up by the noise in the hallway and the dead bodies she had seen being cleaned up as she walked down the hallways, and she stammered her words. "Your son started crying when he heard the screaming and the gunshots, but once the noise stopped, he became calm, and Candelaria gave him his bottle and sang to him."

Tiana showed a slight smile, although Naveen was so disturbed he hardly cared at all. "Glad to hear that, Danlí."

Danlí curtsied in the Maldonian style (which is not at all like ours) and did it very well because, of course, she had been taught how, then left.

A medic then walked in. "We are sorry to report, Your Majesties, that all of the people who fell out of the window have died."

Naveen's eyes widened, and he took a very long drag on his cigarette before he spoke. His voice was filled with shock and sadness. "Not one of them survived?" he asked.

Tiana's eyes were also widened, and her voice, too, was filled with shock and sadness. "How many was there?" she inquired.

"71 plus the additional 21 guards, Your Majesty, which makes a total of 92 deaths," the medic replied. "A good number of the people fell on the floors of the palace while running up here and are still alive, however. A good many were shot by the guards, however. The surviving are being held in the dungeon right now, although around 15 of them ran out of the palace doors and are thus uncaptured. And, of course, a great deal of the people did not enter the palace, and have been shooed away from the palace by the paramedics."

"I see."

Nagina's eyes also widened, and her mouth held open. "My Lord. This is such dreadful news," she said in a quiet voice, aspiring to be seen positively in the media.

Tiana knew what she was attempting to do and narrowed her eyes, annoyed.

"Some of the guards were also shot, however by the commoners, who had stolen their guns from them."

Tiana became more shocked by the minute. Her mouth dangled open more than ever. Her voice then grew quiet, and she found herself struggling to speak. "How- How many of the guards was killed?"

"Seven," the medic replied, sympathetic to the Queen's grief.

Tiana found the next question hard to ask. "What was their names?"

"I do not know," the medic told her. "I am afraid you and the King and the Lady Nagina shall have to identify them."

"Well, thank you. You may leave now," Naveen told the medic, motioning to the door with his cigarette.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the medic replied and bowed before leaving. Nagina followed after him.

Tiana and Naveen simply stared at each other for quite some time, their faces both reflecting unfathomable sorrow. It was some time before they stopped. They finally stopped once they both realized the photographers were taking several photos of them. They looked around and saw the photographers continuing to take photos of them, as well as the room and the view from the window. They had been doing this for several minutes now, and it seemed excessive. After another minute, they stopped, however, and all bowed and then walked toward the room. One of the photographers turned back and took one more photo of the couple before leaving with the others.

Naveen sighed, took a long drag on his cigarette, and lay back on the bed, exhausted. Tiana continued to stare into the air, shocked.

"99 people all dead. I just can't believe it," she said.

"I know," Naveen said, clumsily butting his cigarette out.

"And do you see the guards that went out the window?" Tiana said, turning and grabbing Naveen's arm, pure shocked, disbelieving sadness in her eyes. "Hendit, Fazir, Mikan, Hakin, Miko, Zehan, Motar, Bihar, Jamui, Richir, Jaspur, Kalol, Lahar, Pusad, Rajor, and I don't even know who the 5 others was. All of them just dead, like that..." She snapped her fingers. "And which guards do you suppose got shot in the hallway? The poor men..." It was clear to look at her that she was deeply saddened.

"I know," Naveen said, sympathetically. He understood how much grief Tiana was experiencing. She had become very close with many of the guards, and had grown to like many of them.

"Do you suppose Leni is dead?" Tiana continued. "And.. and what about Axel, and Dieter, and Wajid, and Pachai? My God..."

"I know," Naveen said in a low, sorrowful voice. He did not feel quite as sorrowful as Tiana, however, for he had known several servants and guards who died as he grew up in the palace. None of the servants and guards had died since Tiana had become Queen, however. He turned his head sideways to look at Tiana. "I honestly wish that the people would not celebrate my birthday so enthuastically, and they definitely had no right to break into the palace."

"Well, has this ever happened before?" Tiana asked, turning around to look at him.

"Not to this extent for quite a while," Naveen replied, his eyes low and his mouth hanging open. "There was an incident rather like this when my father turned 18, but this was settled rather quickly and the people were all locked in the dungeon." He paused as he realized something. "As a matter of fact, they are still there, if you would like to speak to them."

"Maybe I will later on," Tiana told him.

Naveen lay back down on the bed and took his cigarettes from his pocket. "And there were 2 rather disastrous incidents when my grandfather was King. But overall, the situation was never this bad since my great-grandfather reigned. I was not alive, then, but you can ask Mathura all about it, if you wish. As a matter of fact, you should ask Mathura all about these incidents, instead of me, as she can recall several first-hand for you."

"I just might," Tiana said. "But I believe that something needs to be done about this issue. I think we should raise the guard and have the key held by guards behind the gate."

"That sounds excellent to me," Naveen told her, popping the flame of a match into life with his thumbnail. "I would be most glad to prevent such incidents from occuring in the future."

"I'm sure you would," Tiana assured him.

Naveen lit another cigarette and hastily shook the match out, declaring, "I honestly regret that my birthday caused such terrible events to occur, and I vow that it will never happen again."

Tiana kneeled over Naveen so that she was looking him eye-to-eye. "Naveen, I honestly don't blame you," she told him. "It weren't your fault, and I know that. It ain't like you even asked them to come here and wish you a happy birthday."

"No, but I do feel sorry. If I had never been born, it would never have happened," Naveen said, lying on his side, letting the smoke from his cigarette lazily fill the air around him, and gazing off regretfully.

"Well, I guess that is true, but you want to know something, Naveen? If you had never been born, I would never have found my true love and I would never have been happy like I am with you now," Tiana said.

The words were sincere. Naveen could tell. And he felt his spirits raised by them. He turned around and smiled. "Thank you, my love." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

()()()()

Charlotte was even more excited than usual as she bounced up and down in her chair in her bedroom at the mansion as her make-up artist, Matilda, attempted to apply face powder to her face, which made her job very difficult. Matilda was very skilled, however, and applied the cream like a true artist, no matter how much her pallette moved.

"You know, Lavinia never even told me she had a brother! I wonder what he'll be like! You reckon he'll be nice, charming, handsome, or all three?" Charlotte laughed, shaking in her seat. "Oh, I hope this goes all right! Don't you, Matilda?" She looked up at Matilda, who, having finished applying the face powder, now put the lid on its container.

"I am sure it will, Miss LaBouff. You are a very charming, beautiful young woman, and he would have to be an utter fool to resist you," Matilda replied as she walked to her dresser and put away the face powder.

"Oh, Matilda, thank you so much!" Charlotte cried, her face lit up with excitement. "You're the best make-up artist in the whole wide world!"

"You're... welcome," Matilda replied awkwardly as she took a tube of lipstick from her dresser.

"I only hope Donald ain't a fool!" Charlotte laughed as Matilda walked over and applied lipstick to her lips, which was, of course, very difficult, since Charlotte's mouth was wide open.

"Well, I guess I'd better just suck up my fears and go, right?" Charlotte got up from her chair, startling Matilda, who had just finished applying the lipstick, and was now closing the tube.

Charlotte ran to the door, then turned back to Matilda, who still stood by the chair open-mouthed. "Bye, bye, Matilda!" Charlotte cried with a wave, and then ran out the door. She then ran off down the hallway and down the stairs and into the parlor where Big Daddy sat in his armchair glancing over a letter by the fireplace.

"Bye, Daddy!" she cried, turning to wave to him only momentarily before she ran out the door.

"Bye, sweetheart," Big Daddy mumbled. He continued to glance at the letter until he was sure his giggling daughter had left the mansion, and then he slowly began to peel the envelope open.

It was the daily routine of Eli LaBouff to be given his mail at the breakfast table. Then, once he was completed with breakfast, he would read it. This routine was followed on the day of which's events I presently detail to you. But on this day, one of the letters he received was one which was rather distressing. It had his brother's name and address on it, which was worrisome on its own. The reason it made Big Daddy worry was that his brother and he had not been on the best of terms since they had been in their early 20s, and they typically only sent each other letters on very rare occasions, if ever. As a matter of fact, the last letter Big Daddy had received from his brother had been on April 18, 1922. So he had decided to wait to open the letter for quite some time, and it was with caution that he now opened the envelope.

He slowly removed the letter from the envelope, then unfolded it and read it. It read, as follows:

"Dear Eli,

I am sure it was quite a shock for you to receive a letter from me, was it not? I regret to say that I write not to deliver good news, but instead very unfortunate news, which you must be aware of, nonetheless. I am sorry to say that our dear father is very ill of health. The doctors are almost positive that he will die in a few months' time.

But Father has a great wish to see you, and Rachel (she is his current, and seventh wife) also wishes you to visit him. Please send back a letter to me stating when you shall arrive, and when you shall leave.

Signed,  
Bertram LaBouff

Big Daddy stared open-mouthed at the letter and read it again. He continued to read it over and over again, as if unwilling to believe what he were seeing were true. Papa will die in a few months? He felt a pang of guilt, for he had spent very little time with his father, and now he would not get the chance to spend much time with him. He also was filled with dread at the possibility that his father might die prior to a few months' time. He read the letter once more before he put it back in its envelope, and then got up and placed it in his letter-holder on the mantel.

()()()()

"So all those people came in here and the guards ran at them, and they all fell through the window and died?" Naveen's 8-year-old brother, Kanad said, his eyes wide. He stood by Tiana and Naveen's bed, looking up at them in pure shock. Tiana and Naveen, both sitting with their legs dangled over the side of the bed, looked down at him pitifully.

Kanad had been in his bedroom upstairs from Tiana and Naveen's asleep when he had heard the noise downstairs. He had crawled to his bedroom door and peeked out of it, only to find a tall guard standing outside it. "You may not leave this room, Your Highness," the guard had told him before pulling the door shut. His mouth hanging open, Kanad had gotten back into his bed, but then panicked when he heard gun shots, and hidden under his blanket in fear for the remainder of the riot. Once it was over, his nurse had come to his room and comforted him for several minutes before letting him go to Tiana and Naveen's bedroom, which was where he was now.

"That is correct," Naveen replied mournfully.

Nigel and Clifford stood next to Kanad by the bed. Nigel's face projected sheer outrage, and he looked as if he were ready to explode with anger.

"It is an outrage, Your Majesty, a sheer outrage! What right do the people think they have to break into this palace and destroy priceless heirlooms and burst INTO THE KING AND QUEEN'S BEDROOM?" he screamed, waving his cigarette in the air madly. "We cannot allow such a thing to persist, Your Majesty! The citizens of this country must know what has happened! They must know how many of the people have died, and the ones that survived, we must put in the dungeon for 50 years!"

"No," Tiana said sternly. "It was a terrible thing they did, but they do not deserve to be imprisoned for 50 years."

"Well, I agree that it was an outrageous thing to do," Clifford said, his face and tone of voice reflecting utter calm. "And it should definitely be prevented from occuring in the future, but the deaths of so many of the people and imprisonment of nearly all the survivors should be enough to persuade the citizens from not doing this again. And I agree with Her Majesty that 50 years is very harsh."

"I think so, too," Kanad said.

"Well, how should your Majesties think of 45 years?" Nigel suggested, irritated. "After all, that is the length of time which King Kabir had the commoners who invaded the palace during his 18th birthday imprisoned for."

"I am not my father, Nigel," Naveen said harshly. "That is something you must learn. I was once, but I am no longer, nor will I ever be again."

"Of course, Your Majesty. That is fine. I respect that, I honestly do," Nigel told him. "But we simply cannot let them get away with such abhorrent crimes for any less years in the dungeon than they deserve!"

"I agree," Clifford said. "Do Your Majesties agree?"

"I agree," Naveen told him.

Tiana hesitated. She thought for a moment, then answered somewhat reluctantly, "I agree, too."

"Well, then, it must be decided how many years in the dungeon the people shall be sentenced to," Clifford said.

"Yes, that much is clear to all," Nigel agreed.

"We shall have a meeting to discuss the matter," Naveen told them. "Do you agree, Tiana?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Tiana told him.

"And should it be held in 12 minutes?" Naveen asked.

"That sounds fine," Tiana agreed.

"Very well, then." Naveen turned away from Tiana, so he was facing Nigel and Clifford again. "The meeting shall be held in 12 minutes."

"Very well, Your Majesties," Nigel and Clifford both replied, then walked out of the room.

Kanad stayed behind, continuing to stand by the bed and look up at Tiana and Naveen with a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"I can't believe it!" he cried, spreading out his arms wide in utter mortification.

"I know, I know," Naveen said dejectedly.

"Why did those people think they could break into the palace?" Kanad said, his eyes still wide. His expression and tone displayed a very juvenile shock at the matter, and Tiana and Naveen were saddened to see how the 8-year-old's mind was flabbergasted by such alarming matters.

"I have no idea what gave them that idea, brother," Naveen replied in an annoyed tone. He was not annoyed at his brother, who he pitied, but rather at the Maldonian citizens for their outrageous level of impudence.

Tiana sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. "Naveen, you should tell your mother about the meeting."

"Yes, I'll go do that," Naveen agreed, and stood up, but then he froze, filled with horror. "I wonder where she is right now," he said, his eyes wide in terror.

At once, Tiana became filled with worry, also. Was Nagina making horrible lies to the press that they would need to refute? Was she calling other members of the family to inform them of the situation? There was a multitude of things that the ex-Queen of Maldonia would be doing at a time like this, and they had to know what they were. "You'd better go find her," she said.

"You're right," Naveen said, and ran from the room at once. Instantly, he saw a mob of servants and maids crowded around the door. None of them spoke to him as he passed, but all stared at him with concerned and bewildered expressions on their faces.

Naveen walked down numerous hallways, looking through every doorway for Nagina. In every hallway was the same sight, numerous maids and servants cleaning with petrified and shocked looks on their faces. They all looked as if they wanted to speak to Naveen, but not one dared to do so. This continued into the hallway which contained Nagina's bedroom, which Naveen walked up to and knocked on the door loudly.

"Mother, are you in here?" he called.

"Yes! Come in!" Nagina's voice called back.

Naveen opened the door, finding it to be unlocked, and entered the room.

Nagina stood on the left side of the room holding the headset of her telephone to her ear. She turned around and glanced at Naveen, then turned back. "Well, he has just come in. You may tell him that yourself," she said.

"Who have you called?" Naveen asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Nagina smiled, and turned to face him. "It is your uncle, Akhil."

Before Naveen could utter a word of protest, Nagina thrust the headset of the phone into Naveen's hands.

Naveen grimaced as his uncle's aggravating voice bore into his ears: "Nagina! Nagina! Are you there?".

He sighed, and answered: "I am here, Uncle Akhil. She handed the phone to me."

"Oh, Naveen!" Akhil laughed. "Your mother has just informed me of that rather nasty business that just took place over there."

"I guessed so," Naveen said dryly, instantly put in a bad mood by the sound of his uncle's voice.

"It just goes to show what happens when people who are too young become the rulers of an entire country. Should have raised the guard, shouldn't you, and kept the key out of reach?" Akhil taunted. "But no, no, why bother with any of that when we can just make the guards kill them all?"

"I am in no mood for your criticisms of the young, Uncle Akhil," Naveen said, his voice seething with anger. "And for your information, we did not order the guards to kill any of those people. Their head, Yadav, did without consulting with us."

Nagina watched him with her arms crossed, smiling broadly.

"Ohh. So your head of security has such little respect for you he does not bother to consult with you before ordering attacks, eh? Well, I suppose I cannot blame him. Kabir was a much easier King to respect, unlike his son, with his idiotic ideas about gender equality and..."

Naveen was overcome with rage as Akhil's obnoxious, grating voice drilled into his skull. "I AM TWICE THE MAN MY FATHER WAS, UNCLE AKHIL!" he roared into the telephone, seething with rage. "I AM TIRED OF YOU AND YOUR NONSENSE! Why don't you go off and have another stroke? And don't come out of it this time!" He slammed the headset down into its cradle, then turned to see his mother, still grinning broadly.

"That was a bit of an overreaction, wasn't it?" Nagina remarked, then shook her head. "Very harsh, indeed."

"I am tired of that man, and I mean it, Mother," Naveen told her, his eyebrows lowered, breathing rapidly to calm himself. "The sooner he dies, the better, as far as I am concerned."

Nagina sighed. "You should not say such things, my son. You should not say such things. But why did you come in here to begin with, Naveen?"

"We are going to hold a meeting to discuss the incident," Naveen informed her.

"Excellent idea. When shall it be held?" Nagina asked, still smiling.

"I'm not sure anymore," Naveen admitted. "We had planned it to be 12 minutes when I left to find you. I suppose they are waiting for us."

"I shall come at once," Nagina said.

"Good," Naveen said, slowly regaining his composure. He walked to the door and opened it, and he and Nagina walked out and down the hallway.

()()()()

Charlotte was very eager to meet Lavinia's brother, but after Lee pulled her car up to Tiana's Palace, she stepped out, only to come to a distressing realization. "Uh, Lee..." she said awkwardly, turning around.

"Yes?" Lee replied, uninterested, from the front seat of the car.

"I just realized something," Charlotte told him. "Lavinia never told me what her brother looked like, and I don't even know if he's in there or not."

"I'm sorry, Miss LaBouff. That's very unfortunate," Lee replied, attempting to hide how amusing he found the situation. "Perhaps you should see if Miss Lyte is still in the restaurant."

"Oh, that's a good idea! All right!" Charlotte said, then turned around and ran to the doors of Tiana's Palace, and through them. A few of the patrons looked up, but most had become accustomed to Charlotte's entrances. She scanned all their faces, and did not find Lavinia's, so she planned to search in the bathroom before she heard a young male voice say "Miss LaBouff? Miss LaBouff?"

Charlotte turned, and saw a tall, brown-haired man of 23, sitting in a booth smoking a cigarette. He stared at her, looking only slightly unsure of himself. "I'm Lavinia's brother, Donald. You are Charlotte LaBouff, right?"

"That's right!" Charlotte answered, and threw herself into the seat across from Donald. She started fiddling with her cigarette case and fitting one into the long black holder. "So... I suppose Lavinia's already told you plenty about me, right?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, yes. Quite a lot," Donald responded, striking a match on his thumbnail and leaning in to light her cigarette. "And your friend who became the Queen of Maldonia. That must have been very exciting."

"Ohh, yes, it was!" Charlotte agreed. "I just couldn't believe it! I mean, I've known Tia since we was 5 years old, and I always dreamed of going off to marry a prince to marry a princess, and I never, in my wildest dreams, thought it would actually happen to Tia. It almost happened to me, too, you know that? I-I almost married Prince Naveen and became a Princess."

"Really?" Donald said, surprised. "Why didn't you?"

"Well, you see, the Prince only agreed to marry me so that I would kiss him to turn him back from a frog, and..." Charlotte explained.

"Wait, wait. What do you mean by 'turn back from a frog'?" Donald asked, thoroughly confused.

"Oh, well, that-that part's kinda hard to explain." Charlotte giggled nervously and took a long drag on her cigarette, then blew the smoke out of her nostrils. "Well, uh, anyway, enough about me and Tia," she said, awkwardly tapping ash onto the tray. "What about you?"

Donald took a deep drag on his own cigarette before he spoke, inhaling the smoke. "Well, my life is basically the same as yours, I'd imagine. I have my own mansion, but I live in Baton Rouge because I try to stay out of the press, and whenever I come out, it's usually in disguise, and the media does, usually, ignore me. Occasionally, they come to the mansion asking me for an interview, but..."

As Donald spoke, Charlotte heard bits and pieces of his words, and nodded once or twice, taking awkward, jerky drags on her cigarette, but her focus was mainly on his face, and the sweet tone of his voice. And Donald seemed nice enough, at that. Yes, he seemed like a fairly good person, and she thought she might get to like him. But she wasn't sure. Maybe...

()()()()

Once Naveen got back to his bedroom with Nagina, he exchanged words with Tiana only briefly before they both summoned Nigel, Clifford, and all of their advisers to the meeting which would be held in his office.

They all then walked to Naveen's office, and sat down at the long table and waited for the others to arrive. After a wait of only a few minutes, Nigel, Clifford, Rosebury, Manna, and Ajimer had all arrived and were seated at the table with Naveen, Tiana, and Nagina.

"Well, it is clear that this dreadful incident has left numerous issues which we must deal with," Clifford said, tapping a cigarette on the table. "Where do you propose we begin, Your Majesties?"

"Why don't we begin with the 8 guards who were shot in the hallway?" Naveen suggested, taking out a cigarette of his own. "Have you identified them yet, Tiana?"

"Yes, I have," Tiana answered. Naveen could tell by looking at her that she was in a deep state of gloom. Her eyes were sunken into a perpetual state of gloom, and her face hung low. All signs of joy and happiness were gone from her face, and it looked as though they would never return. Naveen felt more sad than ever as he saw this, for he was once more reminded that it had been his birth which had caused all these deaths. He struck a match on the table and lit his cigarette, then breathed a deep cloud of smoke over his head and asked slowly and cautiously, "What are their names?" 

Nagina's face was fixed into an irritated look of impatience. She had seen countless guards die during her time as Princess and Queen, and she was the only one there who did not look at all disturbed by the day's events to any extent.

Tiana took a deep breath, her face screwed up so that it looked as if she were about to cry. She said, "Wajid" in a quiet, trembling voice, then took another deep breath

Nagina simply rolled her eyes, while all the others' expressions showed that they felt deep sympathy for the Queen.

"Poor Wajid," Nigel said, shaking his head mournfully.

"Indeed," Clifford said, bowing his head for an instant.

Tiana took another deep breath, then said in a voice even quieter than before, "Pachai, Tokar..."

Naveen, Nigel, Clifford, and Rosebury all bowed their heads in grief, while Nagina seemed to grow more irritated by the second. If Tiana had looked at her, she would have been overcome by rage, but she did not, keeping her head bowed low in what looked like a permanent state of sorrow, as if her soul had been torn from her body and would never return.

"Ridan, Timos..." Tiana continued, then looked up at the group assembled there. "And there was 3 others who I had to identify by the guard records. Their names are written here." She took a piece of paper from her pocket and set it down on the table, then looked down on it and read the names.

As soon as she was finished, Nagina cleared her throat and said with a smile, "Well, now that that is over with, we must deal with the next matter. Making certain that Maldonia knows that the royal family did not order these deaths, but that Yadav acted on his own."

"Yes, that is a very important matter," Rosebury agreed. "We shall have to make sure that that situation is handled well."

"Yes," Naveen said firmly. "We must make sure that the country knows we did not order these deaths."

"Well, I think that it is obviously necessary to fire Yadav," Nigel said.

"Good idea," Tiana muttered, her head still hanging low.

"Yes, that's what we'll definitely have to do," Naveen said, nodding.

"Of course," Nagina said, smiling broadly.

"You must tell the people you did not order the deaths in a formal manner, rather than simply releasing an official statement," Ajimer said. "I believe that you should hold a press conference in which you express your sadness for the citizens and guards killed and emphasize that Yadav acted on his own, and was fired."

"Excellent idea, Ajimer!" Nagina said, pointing her left index finger, and still smiling.

"Yes, marvelous idea!" Nigel shot in.

"Yes, that is an excellent idea," Clifford agreed.

"Yes. Do you agree, Tiana?" Naveen asked, turning to his wife, who was seated to his left.

"Yes, yes," Tiana said, not looking up.

"Well, then, we should move on to the next item of concern," Nigel said. "Have any of the other members of the royal family been informed of this?"

"Yes," Nagina answered. "When Naveen came and got me, I had called my siblings, Jasmine and Ojas, and was on the phone with Akhil."

"And no one else?" Tiana asked skeptically.

"No one else," Nagina assured her.

"Well, we can safely assume that Jasmine and Ojas have informed the Queen of Giodonia, Dorphilia, and other relatives on their side of the family," Clifford said.

"Well, they'll be calling up soon to prod us for details, then," Naveen said. "I'll probably be on the phone for hours once this meeting ends."

"Some of our servants and maids have either quit in protest or out of fear for their lives," Nigel spoke up.

Tiana looked up at him, her face more saddened than ever. "Which ones?" she asked.

"Do not worry, Your Majesty. Only 5 quit," Nigel assured her. "Jhansi, Maashi, Griselda, Nahil, and Bijnor."

Tiana sighed, and held her head low once more. "Well, I won't miss them half as much as Tela."

Naveen was thankful to see that Tiana had not been particularly close with these maids, and hence was not extremely saddened by their resignation. He himself had not been close with any of the servants or maids, and many had retired while he was a Prince.

"Obviously, we will have to replace them, as well as the 28 guards who died," Manna said.

"I shall hold the interviews tomorrow," Naveen replied.

"Sounds good," Tiana muttered.

"Also, I believe the guard should be raised to prevent such events from repeating themselves," Nigel said.

"We have already planned for the guard to be raised and for the key to be kept within the palace gates," Naveen told him.

"Yes," Tiana said, looking back up, her face stern. "We do not want this accident to ever be repeated."

"We should inform the guards of this post-haste before they, too, quit," Clifford pointed out.

They all agreed.

"Also, some foreign dignitaries may come to the palace to celebrate your birthday, Your Majesty," Rosebury said. "It would be best if these were canceled, as it would not look good for the royal family to be celebrating in light of such tragedies."

Tiana felt a sudden shock as she heard those words. She had forgotten about Naveen's birthday, in light of the tragic events, but now she remembered the unjustness of her country. Although she would never admit it, even to herself, she felt relief that the day's tragic events would distract others from celebrating Naveen's birthday.

"You're right." Naveen could not help but feel somewhat saddened by this necessity, but then he looked over at Tiana and saw her face tightening itself into a glare, and quickly became very grateful for it. "Are there any more issues to be discussed?" he asked.

"I cannot think of any," Ajimer said.

"Neither can I," Rosebury said.

"I do not believe so," Nigel said.

They all thought for two minutes, then agreed that there were no more issues which need be discussed.

"Very well, then. This meeting is over," Naveen declared. So Nigel, Clifford, and the advisers all left the room, but Naveen stayed behind to comfort Tiana some more before they also left.

()()()()

Ever since he came home, Deron did nothing but sit in his armchair in the living room and gaze off into the air with his joints stiff, his eyes wide, and his arms firmly placed on the arms of his chair, thinking of what he was going to do later that day. To go into a hotel room and save a man from being murdered by gangsters. He could not entirely believe it was true, and he was terrified, for he strongly suspected that he might be killed, and if not, the Mafia would certainly make the best effort they could to have him killed.

His wife, Mabel, could not help but notice his perturbation, and was instantly concerned. After all, it was clear to look at him that something was wrong. And the way he was sitting, she could only imagine that it had been something very terrible, indeed. Perhaps he had been fired and was too afraid to tell her this and was concerned as to how he could provide for his family? All she knew was something terrible had happened to him, and she believed that it would deeply effect him, and likely her, as well, and as she was his wife, she decided she was entitled to know.

She walked in front of him and asked in the most sympathetic voice she could muster, "Deron, what is wrong?"

"Huh?" Deron was suddenly jerked out of his trance. "No- Nothing," he said, flustered. "N-nothing's wrong, sweetheart."

"Deron, don't lie to me," Mabel said, irritated. "The way you was sitting there a second ago, it was clear that something horrible musta happened to you."

"Mabel, I swear to you, nothing has happened to me!" Deron insisted, aggravated. "Everything is all right!"

Mabel's anger only grew. "Deron, I know something is wrong, and it ain't no good lying to me! Now, I'm your wife, and I believe that I'm entitled to know what has got you so nervous!"

"Mabel, ain't nothing got me nervous!" Deron insisted. "You're jumping to conclusions, that's all!"

"Oh, fine, Deron, don't tell me what's the matter!" Mabel said, sweeping his arm through the air. She turned and walked to the doorway. "I mean, it ain't like I've got the right to know about some horrible problem that's affected my husband!" She stopped at the doorway and turned back to face Deron, who merely watched her with a very irritated look on his face as he lit a cigarette. "But I want you to know that I do not believe a word of it when you tell me that nothing's the matter. Something musta happened to affect you that deeply, and if it did affect you that deeply, then I am bound to find out about it eventually!" That said, she swept through the doorway and stormed off down the hallway.

Deron sighed and leaned back in his armchair, overcome with guilt. He knew he could not tell Mabel about the conversation he had overheard, because she would insist that he not attempt to stop the murder from taking place, but he knew that he must, whether he ended up dying in the process or not.

()()()()

Naveen had been right. Once he left the meeting with Tiana, he was on the phone for hours telling relatives every detail of the dreadful events of the day. The same held true for Nagina and Tiana. And as soon as they got off the phone, another would call. The lines were jammed for hours with relatives who wanted to know what had happened, and many of them scolded Naveen, Tiana, and Nagina for not having called to tell them. After 6 straight hours, they all got off the phone with their respective relatives, but then Tiana's phone rang again, and she answered it to find the Queen great-grandmother of Geodonia, Unnao, calling for information. Tiana, frustrated, told her that they had to go a meeting to tell the people of Maldonia they did not order the deaths, and then gave a list of people who she could call to learn of the events, instead.

Once she had done this, Naveen called a press conference to remark on the day's tragic events, and he, Tiana, and Nagina were all driven to the conference where they each gave passionate speeches about how dreadful the deaths were and how they had not ordered them and Yadav would be fired, Nagina's being the most melodramatic of all, actually collapsing, sobbing onto the stage, whereupon she was comforted by a number of reporters. After this, she thanked them and assured them Yadav would be fired and the day's events would never repeat themselves, then got up and left the press conference with Naveen and Tiana.

After they returned to the palace, Tiana said, "We'd better fire Yadav quick, because if we put it off, the media will jump on it."

"You are right," Naveen agreed, and walked to Yadav's office. Yadav sat at his desk, working diligently on paperwork he had on his desk. Once he saw Naveen, however, he quickly stood up and bowed.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"Yadav, you are fired. Get out," Naveen said sternly.

Yadav stared at Naveen, his eyes wide with shock and horror, for several seconds, before managing to gasp "What?"

Naveen struck a match against the wall to light a cigarette and smiled. "I will not have you ordering gunfights and murders without my permission. Now, get out or I shall throw you out."

Yadav's breathing became frantic, and he continued to stare at Naveen calmly smoking, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide, frozen to the spot in pure horror. "But... but the Lady Nagina had ordered that my guards shoot the people! It was not my doing!"

Naveen's eyebrows lowered, and his face grew serious, pondering over the truth of Yadav's words. Yadav's anxiety increased as he stared at Naveen, who remained silent, thinking as he took long placid drags on his cigarette.

"That may be so..." Naveen mused, thinking back to how Nagina's eyebrows had raised when she had heard Tiana condemning Yadav for the shooting. And then she had replied, slowly and carefully, that Tiana's remarks on Yadav's nature were true. A smile steadily spread across Naveen's face, upon which Yadav became filled with terror, rooted to the spot.

Naveen chuckled and tapped ash into a tray on Yadav's desk. "I think you are telling the truth, Yadav."

Yadav sighed with relief. "I am, Your Majesty. I assure you I am."

"But if my mother tells you to perform some drastic action, it shall not be done unless I approve it first," Naveen told him.

Yadav sighed again, then his face quickly grew into a smile. "Excellent, Your Majesty. Excellent," he said, nodding.

Naveen smiled and nodded, as well, and patted Yadav on the shoulder once before turning around and leaving the room.

He found Nagina standing outside the door, smiling broadly.

"Well, you have fired Yadav now. Correct?" she asked.

Naveen shook his head, smiling. Nagina's jaw dropped, baffled. "But, but, but... Why not? You cannot keep him, after what has happened! My son, what is wrong with you?"

Naveen stared at her, still smiling, then he shook his head once more. "Oh, Mother, I am afraid your little tricks have failed. Thought you could shift all the blame onto poor Yadav, didn't you?" He laughed.

"What... What are you talking about?" Nagina cried, growing angry. "Don't tell me that that insolent wretch has lied to you!"

"No. He told me the truth," Naveen said.

"He has told you a lie!" Nagina hissed, her face dripping with hatred. "And I demand that he is fired!"

"I wish that I could fire you, Mother," Naveen replied, still smiling. He walked off down the hall with his cigarette perched between his lips.

"Naveen, he is lying!" Nagina screamed after him. "I cannot believe you! How can you believe that treacherous, disgraceful vermin over your own mother?"

"Very easily," Naveen replied.

Nagina took a deep breath, then walked off the other way down the hallway, her face still contorted in pure rage.

When Naveen got back to his bedroom, he found Tiana sitting on the bed, her arms crossed angrily.

"Well, I hope you have fired Yadav," she said.

"I'm afraid I could not," Naveen informed her. "You see, he tells me that my mother ordered the lethal force be used."

Tiana grew shocked, and then fury quickly filled her. "That lying scumbag. I am getting real sick and tired of her."

Naveen shook his head and took a long drag on his cigarette. "I miss when my father was around. He could really lay into her."

Tiana sighed and crossed her arms again, filled with anger. Then she got up. "I'd better go see James now. I called Graciela again, and she still tells me he's all right."

"I shall go with you," Naveen told her, blowing smoke rings into the air. "I have been too distracted by the day's events to worry much about him today." He grasped Tiana's hand, then walked off to visit James together. It was very nice time spent with him, and soon Tiana went back to her bedroom and called Eudora and Charlotte and told them of the day's events, then collapsed into bed, thoroughly spent.

()()()()

It was very late by this point, and Naveen was returning to his room to sleep after staying with James to read him the Froggi Printo story, and he was passing the meeting room. Just as he did so, Nigel opened the door.

"Your Majesty!" he cried. Naveen turned to look at him, gesturing wildly with his cigarette. "Please come in!"

Naveen went into the meeting room, confused, then shut the door to find his advisers and officials all sitting around the table quietly smoking. In all, the scene was just as it had been 2 nights ago, and Naveen quickly realized why he had been called in.

He sat down at the table, Nigel quickly following.

"Her Majesty is in bed now?" Clifford asked with a slow, tranquil drag on his cigarette.

"I do not know. Possibly," Naveen replied.

"We had better get this done quickly," Clifford told him, tapping ash.

"Yes. We know that this matter may have slipped your mind, given the day's events, and I do not blame you. However, it is integral to our nation that we know when the election shall begin in America," Ajimer said, the lit end of his cigarette glowing red in the dark.

Naveen rolled his eyes and struck a match on his thumbnail, cupping it behind his hands as he lit a cigarette of his own. "This business again. I knew it."

"We must know, Your Majesty," Ajimer said harshly, as he huffed out smoke. "We must know when this scandal is to begin, so that it may be prevented."

"I understand," Naveen assured him. "Tiana was asleep last night, so I couldn't ask her then, and the matter slipped my mind in the morning. So I am afraid I never asked."

Nigel sighed with frustration, mashing out his own cigarette. "You must ask, Your Majesty. You must ask!"

"I know. I will," Naveen said.

"You must ask tonight," Nigel insisted.

"Yes," Naveen agreed, nodding. "I will ask her right now." He took a long weary drag on his cigarette and got up. "Good night, gentlemen." He left the room, perched his cigarette between his lips, and walked off down the hallway.

()()()()

Naveen entered his bedroom to find Tiana lying in bed, tired, but still awake. He butted his cigarette out in an ashtray, turned off the light, and got into the bed next to her, smiling. "I know it has been a hard day, my love," he said, and kissed her on the forehead. "I am sorry."

"At least, we know it will never happen again," Tiana said. "We need to make sure of that."

"Yes," Naveen agreed. "Although I am sure you were grateful it took attention away from my birthday."

"Naveen, I..."

"I do not blame you," Naveen assured her. "I am sure it must be very frustrating how little attention the Queen's birthday is given. Next year, we shall hold a formal celebration, I promise you of that."

"Thanks," Tiana said, smiling.

"And I hope you do not get mad at me for this, but I would like to know. When will the election begin?"

"The voting will be held on November 6," Tiana told him.

"Thank you," Naveen said, then rolled over, and soon, they were fast asleep.

()()()()

Deron had decided to go to the hotel at 7:00, as the gangster had said "I'll bump him off while he sleeps", and Deron assumed that if he left at 7:00, the man would either be asleep by the time he arrived at the hotel or going to sleep soon after.

As the minutes ticked until 7:00 Deron sat in his chair and stared at his watch, not entirely believing what he was going to do. When his watch read 7:00, he stared at it for a few seconds, then paused, feeling as though he were utterly petrified. It seemed impossible to him that he was about to carry out his plans or not.

After a lapse of only a few seconds, he got up, went to his closet, put on his coat, then took his gun from the closet and stuck it in his coat pocket, then went to the door, got on his boots, and walked outside to his car, got in, and drove off.

All the while he drove, he felt as though his body were completely petrified. It seemed as though he were only following through with his plans because it had been programmed into his brain to do so as though he were a robot, performing his task mindlessly without a single thought given to it.

And after a half hour he arrived at the hotel, and drove into the parking lot, then paused. This was insane. No one was forcing him to go through with this; he was not a robot. Perhaps that man could manage perfectly well on his own. Either way, Deron did not need to involve himself in the situation.

And for quite a few minutes he sat there merely smoking a cigarette and thinking about what he was about to do.

He looked all about the parking lot and at the hotel; it all looked very peaceful, and there was no sign of any danger or that any wrong-doing was about to take place, or had taken place recently. He wondered to himself whether or not he had been too late, and the man had already been kidnapped and taken out of his bedroom. But no, few people got to bed any earlier than this time, and even if King Gorilla's habits were to do so, that gangster, Henry, would likely sneak into his bedroom to kidnap him late in the night to be certain he was asleep.

Deron replayed the gangsters' conversation over and over in his mind to remind himself of the details. The conversation was very vivid in his mind, for he had thought of it often since that fateful day, and it was clear from what he remembered that a man would be taken from that bedroom, driven off and murdered, very soon. He could not possibly have mistaken that. And he knew that if he drove off home at this moment, he would learn of King Gorilla's mysterious disappearance in the night the next day, and he would regret for the rest of his life that he had not done anything to stop it, when he had come so close. And so he made up his mind that he had to prevent the murder from taking place, now.

Treading carefully he placed his gun in his coat pocket, mashed his cigarette out in the concrete with his boot, and walked out of the car, both hands in his coat pocket, one of them holding the trigger on his gun. It would appear to anyone who saw him that he were merely walking about with his hands in his pockets, as men are wont to do, but if Henry or King Gorilla or that "Mr. Waterford" or any other gangster who happened to be there pulled a gun on him, he would be quick to act.

Entering the lobby, he looked around. It seemed to be a perfectly normal night at the hotel; the workers went about their business as usual, with no visible signs of emotional distress upon their faces. Indeed, he was entirely sure that no murder had taken place yet. He had stolen a key to King Gorilla's bedroom when he left work that day, knowing they would simply believe it missing and build a new one, so now he simply walked up multiple staircases until he reached the hallway which contained King Gorilla's bedroom.

He looked around cautiously as he entered the hallway. There were no suspicious persons in the hallway, only a black-haired man with a thin mustache wearing a suit who walked down the staircase as soon as Deron came up. This man certainly did not appear to be a mobster, although Deron eyed him suspiciously before realizing just how soon "Henry" might arrive. Hurriedly, he ran to King Gorilla's bedroom door, then gazed about quickly to make certain no one saw him, before he unlocked the bedroom door and hastily ran inside, leaving the door unlocked.

He looked about the room. It was completely empty. Both of the beds were made, and the room was spotless. There was no sign that anyone had stayed in the room at any point that day; indeed, he did not believe that any had.

He was suddenly assailed with a feeling of great panic as he realized that "King Gorilla" or Henry could arrive at the room at any minute. Hurriedly, he ran to the closet, threw open the door, and jumped inside, throwing the door shut behind him and hurling himself onto the floor.

He waited for hours with his ear against the door, but no one ever came.


End file.
